*Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session has been postponed until further notice.* Our apologies to those of you who were planning to come. Please stay tuned for a new date. ​

In the evening, join us for the Drawdown Toronto Summit on Climate Action and Gender Equality to hear from Dr. Katharine Wilkinson and 4-5 Ontario-based organizations and institutions about their efforts to address climate change by focusing on women and girls. Session details:

THE NEXUS BETWEEN CLIMATE ACTION AND GENDER EQUALITY: A DIALOGUE

*This session will proceed at a new location, with Dr. Katharine Wilkinson joining us remotely for a Q & A session. This event is intended for international development professionals/students.*

The Nexus between Climate Action and Gender Equality: A Dialogue, invites international cooperation professionals and students to learn about Project Drawdown’s global warming solutions relating to women and girls and to have conversations about their implications for international development policy, programs, and funding. Register here.

Special Guest: ​Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, Project Drawdown

Dr. Katharine Wilkinson is an author, strategist, and teacher, bringing focus to what is possible for humanity and our home, this earth. Dr. Wilkinson is the latest Visiting Global Fellow at the Ryerson Leadership Lab, bringing her interdisciplinary background in academia, business and the social sector to engage Toronto on climate change innovation. Dr. Wilkinson will join us remotely for a Q & A session.

​ABOUT PROJECT DRAWDOWN

Project Drawdown is a scientifically based, comprehensive plan to implement the top 100 solutions to reverse global warming by 2050. Reversing climate change is not only possible, but feasible and eminently practical. The New York Times bestselling book sets out, in an inspirational and accessible way, the solutions, the math and the economics of how we can actually do this. For more information, click here.

Saturday, February 16 2019, 11:30-4:00

What kind of world are you passing onto your children?What hope do they have for the future of the planet?What are you doing now to create a better future?

Together in this symposium, we will explore the above questions by looking at: Where we are now, how did we get here, the new story, what is possible now and where do we go from here?The AWAKENING THE DREAMER, CHANGING THE DREAM SYMPOSIUM is part of a rapidly expanding global initiative of the Pachamama Alliance, in more than 80 countries in 16 languages.It's a totally unique workshop -- live facilitation and participant interaction are combined with a tapestry of video interviews, drawing upon leading edge information and the wisdom of our time, with some of our most respected global elders, luminaries and leaders.What you will get from this process:

An experience that will change the way you see the world

Reflection time away from your busy life

A mindset shift

Access to a strong community of passionate people​

Seating is limited, and on a first-come basis (15 seats currently available).

Saturday, January 12 2019, 11:30-4:00

What kind of world are you passing onto your children?What hope do they have for the future of the planet?What are you doing now to create a better future?Together in this symposium, we will explore the above questions by looking at: Where we are now, how did we get here, the new story, what is possible now and where do we go from here?The AWAKENING THE DREAMER, CHANGING THE DREAM SYMPOSIUM is part of a rapidly expanding global initiative of the Pachamama Alliance, in more than 80 countries in 16 languages.It's a totally unique workshop -- live facilitation and participant interaction are combined with a tapestry of video interviews, drawing upon leading edge information and the wisdom of our time, with some of our most respected global elders, luminaries and leaders.What you will get from this process:An experience that will change the way you see the worldReflection time away from your busy lifeA mindset shiftAccess to a strong community of passionate peopleSeating is limited, and on a first-come basis (15 seats currently available).

Discover how you can help gain ground on global warming by accelerating what is already working. By donation.

Project Drawdown has identified, researched and modeled the 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change, grouped into seven sectors. Put together, they reveal a path forward that can roll back global warming by 2050.

The Drawdown Land Use Sector includes the protection and restoration of high-carbon ecosystems such as forests and wetlands, as well as the production of perennial timber and biomass crops. Deforestation and degradation of forest ecosystems are responsible for about 1/8 of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions today (IPCC, 2014). By 2015, solutions in these sectors could reduce CO2 emissions by 149.5 gigatons and save $1.20 trillion US dollars.

Ecosystems protection solutions include protecting forests and peatlands and legally recognizing forest tenure by indigenous peoples with claims to the land. The restoration of temperate forests helps sequester significant amounts of carbon. Timber and biomass crop solutions include planting trees for timber or other biomass solutions on degraded land, and producing perennial grasses and woody plants for bioenergy.

In this informative evening:

Learn more about the land use sector solutions identified and modelled by Project Drawdown

Hear from experts who are making change with land use sector solutions at the individual, corporate and government level

Build a long and local vision for land use sector solutions in Toronto

Offer what you can give and/or request what you need, to help move forward land use-related solutions in Toronto and reverse our greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Speakers:​

R. Stacey Laforme, Elected Chief, Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation (MNCFN)- Born and raised on MNCFN, Chief Laforme has served his community for over fifteen years, being first elected to council in 1999. Chief Laforme is very active throughout MNCFN’s traditional territory which encompasses 3.9 million acres of Southern Ontario, not only as a Chief, but as a notable storyteller and poet. His dedication to the land, history, language and culture of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation are helping to guide his First Nation towards a prosperous future. - Chief Laforme will do the Opening and Keynote on Indigenous world view and traditional land management; How Indigenous land sovereignty is essential for reversing global warming.

Ryan Ness, Corporate Strategy Lead, Toronto Region Conservation Authority and Humber River watershed specialist -- in interview with Kevin Best. Ryan will provide an overview of the existing system of watershed governance in Southern Ontario and its limitations for engaging communities in meaningful social-ecological learning. He and Kevin will discuss opportunities to draw on indigenous teachings to reinvent the governance of urban watersheds and bring about the transformation of worldviews of the relationship between self, community and land that is required to successfully address climate change. Kevin represents Giiwayanjigaywin, an initiative to restore the role of Anishinaabek women in the protection and stewardship of water.

Andrew Knox, Andrew Knox is the President of Transition Toronto, the Toronto chapter of the global Transition Towns movement. Andrew holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and is a full-time industrial energy efficiency consultant and part-time lecturer in Energy Policy at the University of Toronto. Andrew co-founded Transition Toronto in 2009 and sees Transition Towns as an essential social force in the mitigation of climate change.

Andrew will discuss Transition Toronto's TreeMobile project, a project which reforests the urban landscape with food-bearing trees and shrubs.

Leila Mireskandari, is a Certified Permaculture Designer who holds a Master's degree in Environmental Studies from York University. She is the founder of Kids' Growing City and Urban Guilds Permaculture, with the goal of transforming our school grounds and suburban yards into food forest oases. Leila is an educator holding Environmental/Sustainability Education diploma and a business woman, holding Business and the Environment diploma from Schulich School of Business. Leila believes in the power of socially conscious entrepreneurship to transform the world into a better place for all.

Sean Thomas, professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry -Dr. Thomas' research focuses on the functional ecology and ecophysiology of trees, forest community ecology, and their links to ecosystem processes, in particular the dynamics of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Current projects specifically address the "dark side” of forest ecology – namely the study of charcoal as a soil amendment (“biochar”) and of natural chars: their properties, distribution, and impacts on soil organisms, processes, and forest productivity. he will spek on "Forest restoration solutions for greenhouse gas drawdown". ​

Drawdown and Unify Toronto to be featured at the EcoFair at the Barns, November 4

The EcoFair is a FREE, family-friendly event that informs and inspires greener choices in our homes and communities. Learn about and celebrate the exciting programs, products and services of over 40 environmental not-for-profit organizations and eco-friendly businesses.

And...experience the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream symposium

This workshop is what inspired us to create Unify Toronto. It continues to ground and inspire us. Here's your chance to experience it too.

What kind of world are you passing onto your children?What hope do they have for the future of the planet?What are you doing now to create a better future?Together in this symposium, we will explore the above questions by looking at: Where we are now, how did we get here, the new story, what is possible now and where do we go from here?

The AWAKENING THE DREAMER, CHANGING THE DREAM SYMPOSIUM is part of a rapidly expanding global initiative of the Pachamama Alliance, in more than 80 countries in 16 languages.

It's a totally unique workshop -- live facilitation and participant interaction are combined with a tapestry of video interviews, drawing upon leading edge information and the wisdom of our time, with some of our most respected global elders, luminaries and leaders.What you will get from this process:

An experience that will change the way you see the world

Reflection time away from your busy life

A mindset shift

Access to a strong community of passionate people

Seating is limited, and on a first-come basis (15 seats currently available).

Discover how you can help empower humanity's response to global warming by accelerating what is already working. By donation.

Project Drawdown has identified, researched and modeled the 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change, grouped into seven sectors. Put together, they reveal a path forward that can roll back global warming by 2050.

In this informative evening:

Learn more about the materials sector solutions identified and modelled by Project Drawdown

Hear from experts who are making change with materials sector solutions at the individual, corporate and government level: